Two suggestions

[WriterDom]

1. Divide the forum along the same lines as the Personal forum. Have a bdsm playground for the increasing number of fluff threads, and a forum for serious discussion. I'm not putting down fluff threads. I've started a few myself. There is nothing wrong with having fun. And the playground would have little need of monitoring except for the major Lit sins. And have a more closely monitored forum for serious discussion of bdsm issues. While safe, sane, and consensual may be the creed, the fact of the matter is what we do isn't completely safe. Safety is paramount, but a little knowledge in well intentioned hands can be a dangerous thing. Education should be a priority here. I don't think you can have the best of both worlds in one forum. But that's just my opinion.

2. Give everyone a weeks warning then lock the mother thread. Blasphemy you say? Well, only a masochist would sit through a reading of the whole thread. Nothing is in there that hasn't been covered in detail on the forum. If we've missed something, then bring it up. And no one cares how this forum got started. If they do, they can ask. For those who want to save it, they had a week to get it on a file. But quit throwing it up in the face of people who weren't around then. I think it makes a lot of people feel less welcome.

 

[WillowPuss]

<snip>
2. Give everyone a weeks warning then lock the mother thread. Blasphemy you say? Well, only a masochist would sit through a reading of the whole thread. Nothing is in there that hasn't been covered in detail on the forum. If we've missed something, then bring it up. And no one cares how this forum got started. If they do, they can ask. For those who want to save it, they had a week to get it on a file. But quit throwing it up in the face of people who weren't around then. I think it makes a lot of people feel less welcome.

I hear what you are saying WD, but I feel that I must disagree slightly.

I have about 5 pages of the mother/monster/mega tread to go. (And I am no masochist! Getting there perhaps ... lol) Robuck and I decided to read it when we first joined the forum in order to get a feel for the people who post on a regular basis now. Personally, I have found it extremely informative and helpful. There are lots of little jems contained in it.

I agree that in no way should it be obligatory to read it if the person has no desire, but, to my mind, it is a vital part of this forum. Its foundation or corner stone, as it were - and with foundations missing, no structure will last that long. It would be like writing the history of the United States without mentioning Britain at all - something would be missing.

Maybe I have misunderstood what a locked thread is - but I get the impression from you saying that people could save it, that anyone who comes after it is locked would have no way of viewing it if they so wished. (And if I have misunderstood that, I apologise to you for the above.)

 

[tassie]

i like the idea of the different forum for fluff threads, but i hate the idea of divisiveness. tricky one.

i think that on balance i would say no, limit fluff threads to somewhere else, not here, but i am up for discussion definitely.

dont lock the mother thread though would be my opinion, ive not read it and ive been made very welcome by the "locals", but id like it to be there if i want to read it. does that make sense?



good thread mr dom.

 

[Daddyslilpet]

I see some very good points here, however, I also see the huge mess it would turn into.

1. Who decides what's a fluff thread and what isn't? Already people get their panties in a wad about threads being moved. Regardless of the reasons behind it.

2. Closing the Mother Thread is something I am personally not for. I too have not as yet decided that I want to read it, but giving me a read it now, or save it somewhere, or never have the opportunity, just doesn't sit well. Not to mention anyone who came in after it was locked would never have the opportunity should they so desire.

These are just my humble opinions, so please take it for what's its actually worth.......which at current market rate would probably be $0.00

dixi

 

[WillowPuss]

These are just my humble opinions, so please take it for what's its actually worth.......which at current market rate would probably be $0.00

dixi

dixi - don't sell yourself short!
You missed out a digit - should reaed at least $10.00, if not more!

 

[WriterDom]

I agree that the Mother Thread has a historical value. But I don't think taking it away would crumble the foundation. What crumbles foundations is not filling in the cracks and failing to do strategic planning to make changes to adjust to growth. And I'm not knocking on cym or Rs. They have enough on their plate. I'm just saying that the forum as a whole shouldn't be afraid to look at different ways of doing things.


An example of a non-fluff thread would be a question or comment that you that you wouldn't be embarassed to put in a non-fiction book of bdsm. Excluding serious questions by novices. The decision would be up the the Mod on duty. I would trust them to make that judgement, and I'd trust that the board member wouldn't be upset if it were moved to the fluff side.

 

[MzChrista]

The problem I see with your plan is that about half the thread I've read either started out serious and got fluffy, or started out fluffy and got serious, so what would you do about that.
I know I havent been here long so maybe there have been problems I dont know about, but my take on it is that its the so called fluffy stuff that makes people feel comfortable enough to talk about the serious shit.

 

[WillowPuss]

I know I havent been here long so maybe there have been problems I dont know about, but my take on it is that its the so called fluffy stuff that makes people feel comfortable enough to talk about the serious shit.

Absolutely.
It also shows that we all have a lighter side.

 

[tassie]

fluffy stuff is anything not started by me.

oh for gods sake tassie shut up.

 

[WillowPuss]

fluffy stuff is anything not started by me.

That is priceless tassie!
As Del Boy would say ... triffic!

 

[WriterDom]

I'm not saying you have to micromanage every post. Who cares if a serous thought is posted on a thread in the fluff section. And you'll never stop the fluffs from posting to a serious thread.

If you are uncomfortable and need the fluff, well, it's all in one place. Get all fluffed up and come to the other side.

 

[Daddyslilpet]

dixi - don't sell yourself short!
You missed out a digit - should reaed at least $10.00, if not more!

Thanks willow....but don't get me wrong, in my mind my opinions are priceless....But I'm also a realist and realize that what makes perfect sense to me might be total crap to someone else.


dixi

 

[Daddyslilpet]

I'm not saying you have to micromanage every post. Who cares if a serous thought is posted on a thread in the fluff section. And you'll never stop the fluffs from posting to a serious thread.

If you are uncomfortable and need the fluff, well, it's all in one place. Get all fluffed up and come to the other side.

However, WD, there is the problem with having a playground for the fluff.....Someone would have to micromanage threads...maybe not the individual posts within threads. You would also run into people fussing about any fluff posted within the "serious" section. To me I see that as a no win situation. I see nothing wrong with this community the way it is. Again, my own personal opinion.

dixi

 

[Quint]

Today I shall be known as the Fluffy Bunny.

Seriously, I've started some threads that may not have directly pertained to BDSM. Talked about my first, only, and terribly satisfying experience with anal here. Asked what profound moments people have had, and what brought them on. Even BDSM-related threads, such as the Domme stewardess and the resulting (lack of) insanity isn't me on a quest for knowledge.

And look at the birthday threads! Sure, we mention birthday spankings a little more eagerly than the GB would, but really, isn't that just a friendly get-together kinda thread?

I'm taking a stand. I think that this forum would be equally successful as a munch (as in "real life welcome. Enjoy yourself amidst the company of like-minded people") than as a scene (as in "leave everything but the paddle at the door"). I think you guys are terrific. When I share my life with you, I genuinely feel understood and appreciated. I guess that's only to be expected: we are all so concerned with what our partners feel that it kind of rubs off in our daily communication. And I dig that. I don't mind the occasional well-meant-but-off-topic threads. Hell, half of the threads with the most serious BDSM subjects end up light and fluffy, like my mom's meringue.

I am not condoning spam or personals. All I'm saying is that for every person who loves the sharp crack of the whip, there is another person who loves the sensation of rabbit fur sliding across their body. Let's share and fulfill ALL our needs.




This "gosh, you guys are swell" moment was brought to you by the letters Q, U, I, N, and T.

 

[cellis]

WriterDom...
I think as a member of this community, that you, like some of the rest of us, are looking for solutions to keep the community united with limited conflict.

Unfortunately, I do see the idea of having a BDSM playground (but oh what fun we could have!) as impractical. I would like to see a separate BDSM personals place, because I think our ads just get lost in the personals as it is now. If there was a BDSM personals, I think it would help to prevent a lot of the issues we have now with people posting ads in this forum. I thought we should have had an area for personals from the beginning. It did not have to be in this forum, but I still think we need one.

As for locking the mother thread.... it is well documented that I thought it should never have been closed in the first place and I am totally opposed to it being locked. While it has been mined, you tend to lose the essence of who we are when one or several posts are removed. It is also about growth.... I am amazed at where I was when I first came here and where I am now.

Ok, we once again those are my thoughts about it.

 

[MzChrista]

I'm not saying you have to micromanage every post. Who cares if a serous thought is posted on a thread in the fluff section. And you'll never stop the fluffs from posting to a serious thread.

If you are uncomfortable and need the fluff, well, it's all in one place. Get all fluffed up and come to the other side.

If Im uncomfortable Ill get that tassie to give me a backrub.
Seriously, given what you just said, I think I have lost the point of your original proposal. Personally, I really cant see what the problem is, but like I said, maybe I just havent been here long enough.

 

[Ebonyfire]

But quit throwing it (monster thread) up in the face of people who weren't around then. I think it makes a lot of people feel less welcome.

I especially applaud that! when I first started posting here, I had that monster thread thrown into my face ad nauseum.

To be truthful, I never read it. I still have never read it. Why? I don't need to. I have tons of links to BDSM Websites, and an impressive home library on the subject. I think I got things covered. In fact, I give them as gifts so I have to keep buying them. And I always keep my eyes out for new ones to buy. I need another bookcase!

Let's move forward, and stop clinging to the past.

Ebony

 

[Cirrus]

I don't think we need another forum. I think this site is over-divided as it is, and there are several forums with very similar subject matter that, IMHO, could and maybe should be combined into one. I don't think it's really going to change anything.

 

[mskittykatt]

i think we just need a new smiley with fluffy bunny ears to add infront of the appropriate threads as we start them!

or maybe it would be simpler for the mods in charge at the time to just add the lightbulb icon in front of the serious discussions for those that don't have time to wade thru it?

for the rest of us struggling through this now - we could just start our threads with a specific icon and the mod's would only have to mess with (relatively) few threads at all.
that way they can stay all in one place but there is still *some* idea of what is in it.

 

[MsWorthy]

Unfortunately, I do see the idea of having a BDSM playground (but oh what fun we could have!) as impractical. I would like to see a separate BDSM personals place, because I think our ads just get lost in the personals as it is now. If there was a BDSM personals, I think it would help to prevent a lot of the issues we have now with people posting ads in this forum. I thought we should have had an area for personals from the beginning. It did not have to be in this forum, but I still think we need one.

I have not been here long enough to have an opinion on much of this topic; however, I do think a bdsm personals thread is a great idea. Not that I need one just that in my experience with websites and forums, people often do not feel comfortable nor get an appropriate response when a personal ad with bdsm at its base is posted in a general personals space.

~likes her own opinion and wonders about being in a space where she can be considered EXPERIENCED based on how often she expresses her opinion~

 

[Sandia]

WD, I applaud your idea.

On the other hand, this is a big forum. One might even say it's infinitely big, since there's an infinite number of threads that can be posted here. It seems to me if one likes fluffy threads, one can post them. If you hate them you can ignore them. I'm not sure why it needs to be one way or the other.

I guess the same goes for the mother thread. I have nothing but respect for it, and anyone who wants to read it, but personally I don't have time. I spend WAY too much time on lit as it is. That doesn't mean I think anybody else should be kept from reading it if they want...

I admit, when I first came here I was a little put off by the "read the m thread, read the m thread..." But I'm over that now.

What I've come to realize is that this is a forum, not a community. A forum is a place where people post things. This will never be a place where everyone agrees with everyone about everything. There may be a community here, or several communities, or even just loners who are with nobody but themselves, but nobody "owns" this place. (Well, except maybe Laurel and Manu... )

Anyway, where was I? Oh, yeah. I like your suggestions, WD, but I guess I feel like they're cosmetic changes, that do not address the underlying problem.

Sandia.

 

[Sandia]

~likes her own opinion and wonders about being in a space where she can be considered EXPERIENCED based on how often she expresses her opinion~

Ms. Worthy, I admit, when I first came to Lit, I asked that question myself. In fact, I asked it again, and again, in a lengthy series of posts to myself. In the end, I decided that numbers of posts was a silly way to measure the worth of a man... or woman.

However, at the end of my lengthy debate with myself, I found that I had become "experienced," and immediately renounced my theory. As, I'm sure, will you... once you've had enough posts.

 

[WriterDom]

There was a feeling that if we did get a bdsm forum that the gays, and the foot fetish people and the incest story people and the fill in the blank people would also want a forum. I think any talk of there being a bdsm personal forum is just wishful thinking. Not that there is anything wrong with wishful thinking. There are bdsm sites who offer more features in the way of personals than are offered to the lit format without major changes. At least that's my take on it.

And if you think the personals are bad now, you should have seen them before the playground.

 

[MsWorthy]

Sandia



Ms. Worthy, I admit, when I first came to Lit, I asked that question myself. In fact, I asked it again, and again, in a lengthy series of posts to myself. In the end, I decided that numbers of posts was a silly way to measure the worth of a man... or woman.

However, at the end of my lengthy debate with myself, I found that I had become "experienced," and immediately renounced my theory. As, I'm sure, will you... once you've had enough posts.





Sandia, thank you for your response but I was not so much questioning my own knowledge and experience as I was suggesting that basing experience on number of posts was not a good way to do so.....I understand that it is a forum criteria and perhaps means nothing more than that one has posted often, but I am always careful with nuance when it comes to those new to the lifestyle.

There is much to discourage the newbies; rules, a hinted at hierarchy, "tradition," and being REAL.

It matters enough to me to throw up a question mark when I think the newbies may misunderstand or take something too seriously when it means nothing.....like how often one posts on a forum.

 

[Sandia]

Hmmm. Ms. Worthy. I was tryin to be funny up there. I hope I didn't fail as badly as I seem to have.

The number of posts one has is a totally ridiculous way of measuring anything other than the number of posts one has.

The "virgin," "experienced," "guru," etc. titles are a feature of Literotica, and have nothing to do with the BDSM forum. I suspect they're just a way to encourage folks to stick around and post a lot.